The Governor of Ogun State and Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, Dapo Abiodun, has said the Southern Governors’ Forum is giving its full support for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, noting that the project will bring development to the region.
Abiodun made the comment when he played guest on Arise Television on Monday.
The governor said, “The issue of infrastructure was an important one, but we didn’t even discuss that issue without first acknowledging what our President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, had recently done.
“The conceptualising of the coastal road, and more importantly, the flag-off of the construction of the coastal road.
“We are unanimous in appreciating the initiative because we can see how much of an impact it will make to the economy of the entire southern region.
“And the part of Ondo State where this road will terminate, ideally if you’re travelling from Lagos to that part of Ogun State, it will take you about five hours.
“When that road is completed, it will take you about 30 minutes. That is the transformation in terms of impact that this road will have on our people. The construction itself, the sheer size of it, will provide hundreds of thousands of jobs, and you can imagine the multiplying effect of that.”
As a way supporting the manufacturing industry in the state, Abiodun noted that the tie-dye material worn by those present at the meeting was manufactured in Ogun State.
He said, “That just underscores how we want to be defined going forward- as one indivisible united region that is blind to party affiliations or tribe or ethnic or religious tendencies.”
“This is a tie and dye design that has been produced in Ogun State for many generations, and when I assumed office, the industry was dying.
“It was dying because the Asians were coming here, they were copying the Adire prints, taking it to Asia and bringing it back as prints, like Ankara prints. And by so doing, it was robbing these small/medium scale enterprises of job opportunities and of income.
“So I said we must do something to resuscitate this industry, and I decided that everyone in Ogun State must wear Adire on Fridays, at least, the public service in Ogun State, and there are about 7,000 of us,” he added.
Governor Abiodung was named the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum at the group’s meeting on Monday.
